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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27718595">The Thorns of a Rose</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swanny/pseuds/Swanny'>Swanny</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Thorns of a Rose [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fanfiction, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Fiction, Other, POV Original Character, POV Original Female Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:20:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,695</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27718595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swanny/pseuds/Swanny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Thorns of a Rose [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 1: 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Staring up at the sky in the bleak and barren room was like exchanging a secret. It felt private like she had peered through a veil of a hundred worlds. A hundred possibilities. When she looked up she could imagine--for a mere moment--what the sky hid from everyone. She could see the winds shift and change the outside world. She could glimpse the moon folding itself into crescents and half-smiles. When she looked up, she could imagine an existence as vast as the sky above. Just as unknown. Just as infinite.</p>
<p>But today wasn't the day to let her head wander. Her mission. Her objective made it so she had to stay vigilant. Once she put this into action everything would change.</p>
<p>"Hey, you good?" A deep and raspy voice asked as Abby stirred awake letting out a soft groan as she raised her hand to my head, feeling a sharp pain which wasn't unusual for the female. Feeling a sense of fatigue wash over her she sat up glancing around letting her long blonde hair fall around herself, seeing the huge, magnificent trees all around as the branches spiraled and tangled in a mystical almost whimsical way. She loved being up here, the branches were sturdy enough to hold their weight, and the three where they've been for the past...</p>
<p>Her thoughts were interrupted by the tiniest pressure at her waist making me spin as she grabbed whatever it was with a tight iron grip. She then found herself staring at a smirking face.</p>
<p>"That sure woke you up, eh?" He chuckled, shaking off the blonde's grip.</p>
<p>Abby let out a sigh as she tried calming her nerves that were now on high alert due to the foreign touch. "Derrick, What did I say about grabbing me?" She began, getting ready to scold him, but he just rolled his eyes as he snatched the apple out of the tree above them.</p>
<p>Derrick let out a laugh before leaning back a bit, "I know I- Oh yeah!" He said suddenly sitting back up, snapping his fingers together as he suddenly remembered something. "Annabeth wanted me to let ya know that she's goin' to the wall later"</p>
<p>"As long as she gets back before sunset I don't mind." She said as she looked up at the blue sky seeing the sun being in the dead center of it. She cursed under her breath as she got up quickly.</p>
<p>She heard the clicking of the man's tongue as he stood up, "Tsk, Tsk, Abby," He teased, shaking a finger at her. "Try to relax for once."</p>
<p>She opened her mouth to retort but he'd already made his way down, walking off with his long strides, forcing Abby to almost trot to keep up. His gait weaves, off-balance. 𝑩𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 is most likely from all of the training he's done recently, even if he's a moron sometimes he was still very dedicated when it came to that. Sustaining many injuries from it, due to how careless he is, but Derrick gets the job done so that's something.</p>
<p>The two arrived at the foot of the hill, where the trees are the thickest where the branches are even bigger almost touching each other as the breeze pushes and pulls them together. The shadows deepening around them as they climbed the upward tilt in the earth toward the crest of the hill. Derrick taking his usual long strides, almost leaving the blonde behind, but he stopped to wait for her. He smirks down at Abby and tossed a lock of faded, tawny hair out of his emerald green eyes.</p>
<p>"Sometimes I forget you have the legs of a child"</p>
<p>"Better than the brain of one," She snapped, giving him a light smack on his arm as she passed him. His laughter followed her up the hill.</p>
<p>"You're grouchier than usual."</p>
<p>"I just," She drifted off, hearing something in the distance, and turned her head to face that direction. "Don't like waking up late." A moment passed before she shook herself of that thought with a horrifying jolt. Abby quickly continued making her way to the top of the hill, with Derrick trailing her.</p>
<p>Abby's heart lurched as she didn't see a familiar figure on the grassy plain, nothing but trees surrounded Derrick and the woman.</p>
<p>She raised her chin trying her best to listen and drowned out the forest noises only to be interrupted by a calm yet sweet voice disturbing the usual sounds of nature. Not only that but it caused the blonde to jerk her head in the direction the voice came from only to let out a sigh of relief as she met the other woman's deep grey eyes.</p>
<p>"Where have you been?"</p>
<p>"Out." She said simply, but Abby didn't fail to notice the pouch the ebony woman had tightly strapped around her waist. Just based on that Abby already knew everything. She'd been there again.</p>
<p>"I think I've gotten enough to get you some sweets, more wood to last the month."</p>
<p>Abby eyed the pouch, frowning with distaste. She's a couple of years younger than Abby but she was very sharp even if the blonde disagreed with her methods. "One day you're going to have to pay for all the pockets you've picked."</p>
<p>"Jealousy doesn't become of you, Abby," She began to tease.</p>
<p>Even with the height difference, Abby managed to pat her head, "Not jealousy, it's called self-reliance." Annabeth's hands fly to her perfect, curly marigold hair, brushing it back into her meticulous bun.</p>
<p>Abby's always wanted her hair, though she'd never tell Annabeth that. She's already got an inflated ego. Where her hair is like gold, Abby's hair is more sunbathed. A light beautiful blonde at the roots, but at the ends, it's pale, as the color leaches from her hair with the stress of this life. Most girls from what Annabeth told her is that they cut their hair short to hide their grey ends, and try to relax so the hair will grow back to its natural shade, but that's not going to happen with Abby.</p>
<p>Annabeth pouts as she hands the pouch to Derrick who's been trying to get a hold of it since she appeared. Opening it up inside was a new tool for Derrick to use which caused him to flash a grin at her. "Thanks, Annabeth, guess that means I owe you huh?" He joked as he put the carver into his pocket and he continued to look through it.</p>
<p>Abby watched as they got excited over those things, it never made any sense to her, so she would just glance around watching out for titans. But on this day something was different...</p>
<p>She could hear something clicking, but it wasn't a normal clicking of bugs singing a tune, branches snapping, or even wildlife roaming around. This noise was distant, but it was familiar in some way. It almost sounds like...</p>
<p>"Annabeth, Derrick I need you to go to the hallow."</p>
<p>"Wh-- but why?" Derrick began moving towards her but Abby jerked away.</p>
<p>"I said go to the Hallow, now." She snapped, before making her way to one of the large trees around the three and beginning to climb it to confirm the blonde's suspicions.</p>
<p>𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔. What were they doing out so early? Until it smacked her right in the face. It's later that's when they come out, it's late afternoon, god how could she let this happen. How could she have slept in?</p>
<p>From what Abby can tell there are over 30 of them on horses wearing those weird green cloaks they always wear even though when they go out it's almost never raining, so it always confused the blonde, but that wasn't her main concern right now.</p>
<p>She looked over at the hill where Annabeth and Derrick had been only to see him shift into his titan form. God damn it what was he thinking?! Does that boy not use his brain at all! That's just going to lead them right to them.</p>
<p>Abby would have to scold Derrick later if they make it to the hallow then everything's going to be okay. She just needed to distract them in some way.</p>
<p>Climbing back down from the tree she went into a thick brush and crouched down waiting as the blonde watched carefully waiting until she heard the unmistakable clicking of horseshoes. And once Abby heard that she looked overseeing a squad of maybe five humans riding my way.</p>
<p>Wait for it. Wait for it. Just a little closer and, the woman extended her arm releasing an array of embers and sparks, hearing the panicked whines of the horses and the shouts of the people on them as their steads moved worriedly trying to see if they needed to run or not.</p>
<p>But amongst the shouts of panicking men, a voice stood out. It was strong, filled with a sense of drive that was unforgettable, in a sense it was a bit scary. To a point, she glanced just to see who this voice belonged to only to see a blonde, muscular male with intense blue eyes that held a fiery passion.</p>
<p>This man had undeniable skill as he managed to calm his horse down so quickly it shook me to my core. How was he able to do that..?</p>
<p>"Commander Erwin!" Another voice yelled as ten or eleven more humans rode up, as the blonde who was apparently named Erwin turned to them.</p>
<p>"I'm alright, but we must move on, that was titan smoke no doubt. We have to find the source." He said firmly before riding off in a hurray causing her to jump a bit as Abby began to make her way to where the hallow was.</p>
<p>She took a short cut to where it should be but she couldn't help but let her mind wander. How does he know what titan smoke looks like, is he apart of the group that comes out all the time? From what Abby saw so many humans died because of the titans, how was this man still alive? It didn't make sense to her, but there's no time to be lost in thought. Abby had to focus.</p>
<p>Her eyes widened as she noticed the now evaporating, steaming titan corpse by the hallow which belonged to Derrick. No, no! He couldn't have been that stupid. But her suspicions were confirmed when she then noticed the number of humans surrounding the hallow where she could smell Annabeth and Derrick's scent from.</p>
<p>As soon as one of them came near the hallow entrance Abby sprinted out of the bramble in front of them, shooting a death glare as she shot some embers, causing the woman to back away in a panic.</p>
<p>The blonde or the commander of this troop had his eyes widen at Abby's little trick. He straightened himself as he cleared his throat giving a look to the woman which she seemed to catch instantly and backed away from Abby slowly as she hopped back onto her stead.</p>
<p>She shifted not knowing what he was planning as she eyed the man, who stared back at her before giving his eyes lightened a bit, but he was still frowning and he tilted his head slightly.</p>
<p>"How did you kill that titan?"</p>
<p>His question took Abby off guard as she tried to think of a way to answer, but before she could he spoke once more.</p>
<p>"Who's in the tree?"</p>
<p>Abby moved slowly as she poked her head into the hallow only to see Derick and Annabeth who managed to climb to the top of it. "You two get out here," She barked coldly, she didn't mean to sound so harsh especially to them, but with these things around them she had to sound distant or they'd use that against the three.</p>
<p>The two slowly climbed down the hallow and exited the tree along with Abby, but as she turned another group of about five humans came out of the forest, and the commander glanced back at them curiously before Abby could notice a hint of concern in his eyes as a raven-haired male approached while the other four in his squad followed behind at a distance.</p>
<p>"Who the hell are they."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 2: 𝐵𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐺𝑟𝑒𝑦</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Abby's nose scrunched up in annoyance as she heard the ravenette's rather rudely phrased question, even with her life being in danger she has no trouble expressing her extreme distaste for these people. The blonde just wanted to be left alone along with the other two that were with her, Abby knew that Annabeth and Derrick could take care of themselves, but even so, she did everything she could to protect them. That was her main priority. Nothing else mattered.</p>
<p>The blonde opened her mouth to snap at the raven-haired male-only to be interrupted by Annabeth, "I'm Annabeth" She said with a seemingly kind smile which took Abby aback since the other blonde is usually just or more of a smartass then Abby is.</p>
<p>The ravenette scoffed before the leader, Erwin, began to speak returning a smile to Annabeth. It was odd... He either was exceptionally talented at faking things, or he genuinely had no problem with the other blonde. Erwin glanced at the other male and let out a small sigh, "Levi you can't be so hostile, especially when they aren't doing anything to harm us, or threatening too." He said calmly as he looking into apparently Levi's eyes before turning his attention back to the three.</p>
<p>Levi scoffed again before meeting Abby's eyes and squinting at her, "Only one of them isn't being hostile." He corrected, before looking at the other two. He had the same glaring look at Derrick, but with Annabeth, it was a softer one that was still menacing but it was much calmer than the one he gave Abby and Derrick.</p>
<p>"You have absolutely no right-" Abby began only to be interrupted once again by a high pitched voice, "I suggest you sit down and be quiet."</p>
<p>Out of the crowd of people, hardly visible sense of the sheer numbers around them, a woman rode next to the blonde commander and Levi before looking down at the three with a serious gaze. Girl, I should say, since she barely looked older than the male with raven hair who also looked considerably younger than what they acted like. But even so, the woman is much taller, with the air of an odd yet eccentric aura to her. She has very dark brown hair, with strange glasses seemingly strapped to her face, and judging by the lack of sweat on her face, she's used to the heat and humidity.</p>
<p>Her face immediately changed when Erwin whispered something in her ear, whatever it was caused her to laugh excitedly almost giddily as she waved at Annabeth to come over. Abby gave the ebony girl a look only to be waved off as she walked over to the madwoman, at least that's how Abby saw it. Why was she so happy all of a sudden? What was her deal?</p>
<p>When Annabeth was closer she looked up at the three with a smile, her dimples and freckles making her look more innocent than she actually was, but hey she always used that to her advantage.</p>
<p>The rest Abby couldn't hear which seriously unsettled her causing her to shift around trying her best to listen in but with at the background noise and the approximately over a hundred soldiers surrounding them it was difficult to hear them even with her advanced hearing. That's probably what unsettled her the most. The fact that she couldn't hear them and they had Annabeth in arms reach.</p>
<p>As the thought entered her head she felt someone touch her shoulder, causing her head to spin in the direction only to see Derrick smiling at her rubbing her back slightly.</p>
<p>"Hey Hey, calm down... It's going to be alright" He said softly as he continued to try and support the blonde. It was working until the mahogany brown-haired woman helped Annabeth onto another horse they had. This made Abby freak out as she struggled against Derrick's grip as he picked her up to stop her from running to them.</p>
<p>"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HER, YOU BASTARDS?!" She screamed still fighting against Derrick's tight grip.</p>
<p>"Abby calm down, they're not going to hurt her"</p>
<p>"You don't know that!"</p>
<p>"I think I do I wouldn't let them if I-" He was cut off by Annabeth riding over on her newly acquired horse as she cautiously got down from the brown and black speckled steed and hugged Abby tightly which was foreign to the blonde. She had lived with these two for years but she never quite got used to these hugs they gave her, but even so, she hugged her back just as tightly.</p>
<p>"Don't worry about me. I can handle it. They just want to ask me questions, that's all." She said softly her grey eyes meeting Abby's deep blue ones. The blonde nodded as Annabeth offered another smile before climbing back on the horse and nodding at the woman who nodded back with a soft almost sympathetic smile.</p>
<p>Annabeth then climbed atop the steed once more before turning the horse with some trouble since she'd only rode a horse maybe once before as far as Abby knew, but she picked up on it rather quickly as she and the woman rose with a small chunk of the soldiers leaving with them.</p>
<p>"I can tell you care about her a lot" A voice suddenly said as Derrick set her down still having his hand on her shoulder just in case she tried to attack them again. The voice that stated this belongs to no other than Erwin, which irritated the blonde considerably. How dare this man try to act as if he knows her. He knows nothing about her or any of them.</p>
<p>The next moments pass in a blur of Derrick talking for both of them saying how he could handle it better than she could. That upset her greatly she was used to being the one who took care of Derrick and Annabeth not the other way around. Abby is supposed to protect them, but they're treating her like a child who didn't know what she was doing.</p>
<p>When she zoned back in being set free from her mind's endless list of worries and concerns over Annabeth she heard one thing that set her off again.</p>
<p>"Okay, Derrick was it? If you could come this way-"</p>
<p>"No. You're not taking him too!" Abby protested crossing her arms as she shit them a venomous glare.</p>
<p>"She does speak," Levi said while scoffing at her sudden outburst.</p>
<p>"So brat. I know your name thanks to your two little friends who apparently have more of a brain than you do. Are you going to keep questioning us, or are you going to actually listen." He said in a dead and monotone voice as he glanced at Erwin who gave him another look before sighing once more. It was clear these sorts of conversations always happen but Abby didn't care if they were normal or not.</p>
<p>Derrick chuckled a bit which made Abby let out a frustrated sigh, before lightly shoving his hand off her shoulder.</p>
<p>"Come on, you know he's right? You're way too paranoid. Just relax and see what happens maybe something good will come outta this?" He suggested with his usual crooked grin, which made Abby sigh again but it was much softer and more relaxed, or at least she was trying to be relaxed.</p>
<p>"Fine." She said reluctantly agreeing with him before he patted her back quite hard almost making her almost fall forward as she pushed him back as he laughed.</p>
<p>Abby then remembered that they were surrounded which was kind of important. But for now, she would cooperate with them, she just had to ride out and see what happens.</p>
<p>------</p>
<p>By the time she entered the innermost wall in this horrible place, they place her in a holding cell below the courthouse in the main city with snobby uptight humans who wore the same uniform as the scouts except they had a different seal on their chest and shoulder, while the soldiers that picked Abby, Derrick, and Annabeth up has two wings like shapes on their seals with the right being blue as the left was white. These soldiers however had a green horse with a horn sticking out of the head with a tangly white mane.</p>
<p>As she settled into her cot having her hands cuffed together because she was going to cooperate until that Levi opened his smartass mouth again. But even with this, her mind was racing with a million thoughts appearing, there was no way she was going to be able to sleep tonight.</p>
<p>Annabeth's coughs in her sleep were courteous and making little to no noise. No wonder the humans like her so much, she fits right in. Even unconscious she's able to be ladylike. She's everything they like in a woman especially in this twisted society: quiet, content, and unassuming. It's a good thing she and Derrick hang out with the humans so much, they probably handle them much better than she ever could. Annabeth is the one that helps other rich and snooty humans pick out their silks and fabrics which made absolutely no sense to Abby, but Annabeth assured her that you get used to how much money they waste on such trivial things and after a while of seeing it. And with Annabeth spending her time with the innermost wall she gets to do what she really wants, which is planning out and studying the buildings surrounding them even the walls themselves. Everything about it entrances her, and she'll go on for hours talking about how a house is constructed and how the interior design entails. This was the only reason Abby let Annabeth go to the walls so much because... It made her so happy. The blonde would never dream of taking that away from her. Even with everything Annabeth studies she still steals from others mostly from Derrick's influence, Abby regrets ever teaching him that but at the time he was trying to get a job and couldn't so to help him get what he wants she taught him how to pickpocket.</p>
<p>The blonde let out a sigh looking up at the ceiling above her. It was so weird being inside a building again. It's so foreign. How was she supposed to go on living inside this prison?</p>
<p>As they traveled inside she questioned Erwin the entire time which caused Levi to sigh and scoff at her the whole time but she ignored it and would snap back at any rude comment he said. From her questioning she was able to gather some useful information, that being how the first wall they entered was infested with titans and the reason for that being a colossal titan had kicked through the wall. The fact that Erwin called it just an 'abnormal' titan so that means he has no clue about what a shifter is, and well Abby wasn't about to tell them so they could cut the three of them open to try and find something out which made no sense. Even if they did cut a shifter open they would just regenerate good as new, not only that but the three of them were experiments. Regenerating doesn't come as naturally to them well except for Derrick who's able to regenerate like any normal shifter but for Abby and Annabeth, it was far more difficult especially for Annabeth with her whole...</p>
<p>Her thoughts were interrupted with the sound of a metal door opening, causing her to sit up quickly meeting two pairs of eyes staring back at hers making her jump as she used a few of her embers to make a small light like a candle meeting the faces of Erwin and an older man with grey hair and wrinkles on his face, but he looked like a kind gentleman.</p>
<p>"Sorry to come here so late Ms eh" The blonde-haired male trailed off as he realized he hadn't asked for any of their last names.</p>
<p>Abby furrowed her eyebrows at being called 'Ms' but even so she thought for a moment before sighing softly. She hadn't heard or used this name in a long time, but it's now or never.</p>
<p>"Swan."</p>
<p>"Pardon?" He asked with a slight tilt of his head.</p>
<p>"My last name is Swan," She explained and before Erwin could speak she added, "You won't find it in any known records of yours. I've never entered this place besides getting Derrick and Annabeth in."</p>
<p>"You're quite courageous Ms. Swan" The older man finally spoke approaching the cell more as he smiled at Abby. "I suppose it's my time to introduce myself. I'm Dot Pixis, but more commonly referred to as Commander Pixis." He said with a lightheartedness to his voice which was not something she was used to seeing as for the better part of the afternoon and evening she's been talking to either snobby or uptight soldiers, the people that took her here seem to be avoiding visiting her that is except for Levi, Erwin, and the dark brown-haired woman from earlier whom she now knows is named Hange, but she was shortly removed due to the increasingly uncomfortable questions she was asking Annabeth and her.</p>
<p>She was very concerned about Derrick since they apparently separated the males and females with different jail block wings, the one on the left being for women and the one on the right being for men. Annabeth was about three cell blocks away maybe a bit father but the smell down here was quite unusual so it blocked her smell a bit, but she was much closer than Derrick since she couldn't even smell him at this point.</p>
<p>But another thing was bothering her, "Commander? But I thought this one was the commander?" She asked dumbly not really understanding how this whole military thing worked.</p>
<p>Her question caused Pixis to laugh heartedly as he looked back at her, "Yes well from someone who lived outside the wall I doubt you'd understand how we operate." He paused as he cleared her throat a bit keeping up with that same smile.</p>
<p>"Erwin here as commander of the Scout regiment, while I'm commander of the Garrisons" Pixis tried to explain only for it to go over Abby's head, for the key components of those words, she didn't know what they meant.</p>
<p>"Scout and Garrison..?" She asked crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall behind her. She was more asking herself than anyone else, but the older man seemed more than happy to explain.</p>
<p>"Well for the Garrisons-" Abby cut him off.</p>
<p>"I think I've got it, you don't have to explain." She said but the way she said it sounded more cold and curt than how she wanted it to sound and it seemed that Pixis was disappointed he couldn't explain whatever a Garrison is. He clearly seemed passionate about it or at the very least he seemed quite interested in it.</p>
<p>"We didn't just come here to talk, I have something to tell you." He said a soft voice much softer than what it was when they first met, but this change she wasn't opposed to it.</p>
<p>"And what is that?" Abby asked stretching her legs a bit as her hands were cuffed up tight so stretching her arms would be a little awkward.</p>
<p>"You have a trial tomorrow to see your placement." He stated but something in his voice was off, he seemed sympathetic. Why was he sorry? The hell kind of trail is this?</p>
<p>"Placement for what," She asked but it was phased in a harsher way than any question should be answered.</p>
<p>Erwin went very quiet seeming to think about what to say next. "Well, Ms. Swan the placement is to see if..." He paused as he thought about his next words carefully. "You're a danger to society or not."</p>
<p>"What?! But we didn't do anything, we haven't hurt any human. What's so dangerous?!" She nearly shouted but controlled herself as to not wake Annabeth up from her peaceful slumber.</p>
<p>"Yes, but the court system we have doesn't seem to agree."</p>
<p>"Well MAKE them agree!" She protested standing up from her cot, if she wasn't cuffed at this moment she would've tried to bust out of this cell.</p>
<p>"Calm down, Abby. With this trial, you can also be placed into the custody of a military branch. So you could be let back outside of the walls if you get placed with the scouts. We just have to prove that you aren't a danger, but that you are valuable to help humanity as a whole." He explained trying to calm down the blonde, but he knew it was going to be difficult based on Abby's previous behavior.</p>
<p>"How am I supposed to prove I'm not dangerous?" She asked she was clearly lost in thought thinking of every possible way to get out of this.</p>
<p>"You need to trust us," Pixis said finally speaking as he rocked on his tiptoes then his heels before offering another warm smile to try and calm Abby.</p>
<p>"Visiting hours are over." A voice with a gruff tone said standing in a way where Abby couldn't see him from where her cell bars were positioned.</p>
<p>"We'll be back tomorrow, but for now try to control your temper," Erwin warned as he followed Pixis out of the cell block leaving the blonde alone as she laid back in her cot sighing heavily as she stared back up at the ceiling once again.</p>
<p>What was she going to do now?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Author's Note: I hoped everyone liked this Chapter, please make sure to like, and follow my story and account if you like this content and want to see more of this story, as well as others I will be posting later once I get them planned out enough.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A new world materialized around her, forming a shadowed landscape of smoke and ash. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒖𝒏𝒓𝒆𝒏-𝒃𝒂. The blonde had gone there so many times that she could picture everything in her head, almost like she was still there. The land is flat, pocked with craters from all of the different abilities. Children in stained red uniforms showing faces with no emotion, like mini soldiers. Abby floated through them all searching their faces, looking for her group until she was lost in the smoke and debris.</p><p>Tony appears first, wrestling with a child in a blue uniform in a puddle of mud. The blonde wanted to help him, but she kept floating until he goes out of sight. Mercedes comes next, bending over a wounded soldier, trying to keep them from bleeding to death. Her gentle features twisting into agony. Abby could never forget the screams of pain and frustration that were emitted from both sides. As with Mercedes, Abby couldn't help her.</p><p>Felix waited at the front of the line, beyond even the bravest of warriors. He stands on top of a ridge without regard for the abilities or humans that come mere inches from hitting his face. He even has the gall to smile at me. Abby can only watch as the ground beneath his feet exploded, destroying him in a plume of fire and ash.</p><p>"Stop!" Abby managed to scream, reaching for the smoke that was one of her friends.</p><p>The ash took shape, re-forming into the shadow. It engulfs the blonde into darkness until a wave of memories overtook her again. Catherine's hand. Nix's conscription. Her parents. They blur together, a swirl of too-bright color that hurt her eyes. 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. The memories moved backward through the years like she was watching her own life play in reverse. And then there are events she couldn't possibly remember: learning to speak, to walk, meeting her group. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆.</p><p>"Impossible," the shadow repeated to her. The voice is eerie but gentle at the same time, even so, it felt as though her skull might crack open. She fell to her knees, colliding with what felt like concrete.</p><p>And then they're gone. Her group, her parents, her friends, her memories, her nightmares, gone. Concrete and steel bars rise around her. 𝑨 𝒄𝒂𝒈𝒆.</p><p>Abby struggled to her feet, one hand on her aching head as things around her came back into focus. A figure stared at her from beyond the bars. A gun glittered in his hands.</p><p>"I'd bow, but I might fall over." She spat sarcastically before trying to get up off the ground, but as she did so she realized something... He's different from the other soldiers, he wasn't a part of Erwin or Pyxis' group. Is this the group they warned her to behave around? The more she thought about it the more horrified she became. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅.</p><p>But he doesn't look offended. Instead, he smirks. Another sting from her migraine makes her wince in pain, god she hated waking up with these.</p><p>"That looks like a bow to me," He purrs, clearly enjoying the paint she was in. Abby gritted her teeth at his taunts and reached out to grab the bars. Her fist clenched around the cool steel. "What do you want?"</p><p>"Not much of anything anymore, but this--" He pointed his gun to where it touched Abby's temple making her freeze not daring to move. "This is to keep you from doing anything."</p><p>The pain in her head and the gun to her temple made tears sting in her eyes, but she blinked them away growling lowly. She hated humans like this. "Like stand on my own two feet?" She managed to spit out. She could hardly think, let alone be polite, feeling the anger boil inside her, but still, she managed to hold back a stream of insults and profanities. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏'𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆, 𝑨𝒃𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒘𝒂𝒏, 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒆.</p><p>"Like burn or electrocute something," He snapped budding the gun against her head causing her headaches to worsen tenfold.</p><p>Abby growled, but listened as he continued to speak, "From what I can tell you're scared of us hurting your friend yes?" The blonde didn't respond merely glaring at the male with dirt brown hair.</p><p>This time he seemed to get a bit annoyed, but he still kept up that stupid smirk. "If you know someone's fear, you know them." He blinked at her like she was some stupid creature, barely even human. "And I had to see for myself what it is we're dealing with."</p><p>"I'm not an 𝑖𝑡."</p><p>"What you are remains to be seen. But be thankful for one thing little flame." He sneered, putting his face against the bars, grabbing her face in his hands. Abby cries out in pain as he forces her head to hit the cool steel bar. God, what she wouldn't give to be out and able to burn this bastard alive for touching her.</p><p>"You did that in front of over a hundred soldiers, people who will ask questions, people with power," He hissed in the blonde's ear, his sickly sweet breath washing over her face. "That is the only reason you are still alive."</p><p>Abby's hands clenched as she feels her body heating up mere seconds away from blasting this guy, but choosing not to because she wouldn't be able to escape with Annabeth and Derrick. He realized what the blonde was doing and laughed openly, before pushing her back into the cell causing her to fall on her bottom. Abby's sat up quickly only to see him disappear further down the hall, leaving her truly alone in the cell. She got up making it to the cot, trying her best to fight her pounding head.</p><p>Exhaustion comes over her in waves as the pain began to subside from her head only to be replaced by her body aching thanks to what that 'soldier' did to her. Weren't they supposed to protect people, not beat them? Tears begin to sting in her eyes, threatening to fall, but she refuses to cry. She had her pride and would not be bested by some arrogant guard.</p><p>Abby could fight the tears, but not the questionings swirling in her mind. Nor could she fight the doubt of escaping in her heart.</p><p>What's going to happen to her?</p><p>What was she?</p><p>-----------</p><p>When Abby's eyes fluttered open she noticed a soldier of some sort staring at her from the other side of the bars. She really had to learn the names of their groups.</p><p>The officer is a pillar of calm. "Change your clothes."</p><p>Suddenly Abby noticed how worn and tattered her clothes were compared to his, even Annabeth and Derrick had nicer clothes, but she tended to focus more on them than she did herself. The officer sets down a neat pile of clothes near the bars. She turns her back allowing Abby to get some semblance of privacy.</p><p>The clothes are plain but fine, softer than anything Abby's ever worn before. A long-sleeved white shirt and black pants, both of them were fitted to her exact size she'd never had clothes that'd fit her so well before, they usually were either too loose or far too tight. There are shoes as well, black and shiny boots that rise up to her knees. She'd never worn boots that shined before how'd they do that? 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆.</p><p>"All right," She grumbled, struggling to get the last boot on and falling again before managing to slide it into place, the officer turned just as she'd done this. The woman letting a soft giggle. Abby heard a jingle of what she assumed were keys as the door to the cell opened with the metal making a low squeak as it was pulled.</p><p>"Quite clumsy huh?" She teased which threw the blonde for a loop. Why was she acting so casual about this? The woman with shoulder-length light ginger hair and a set of amber-colored eyes looked down at Abby, she was maybe a couple of inches taller than the blonde when she finally stood up dusting the fine clothes as she didn't want them to already be dirty. She'd just gotten them after all.</p><p>Abby eyed the girl not sure if she should snap at her or make a run for it as her instincts want her to, but before she can decide the woman speaks again. "I'm Petra Ral, just follow me upstairs," She said her voice sounded so confident it made Abby even more skeptical of this nice act she was putting on. But even so, the blonde can't really argue right now. She doesn't have to ask to know she doesn't have a choice of following or not.</p><p>The woman leads her out of the cell and up a winding staircase, to no less than twelve Security officers she assumed. Without a word, they surrounded Abby which caused her to tense up. The officers did this in a well-practiced formation and forced Abby along with them. Petra stayed right by Abby's side, walking as the officers marched in rhythm together. They all kept their guns in hand as if ready for battle. Something told Abby the men weren't there to defend her but to protect everyone else.</p><p>When they reached the more beautiful upper levels, the glass wall was strangely black. No wait tinted, Abby told herself, remembering when Annabeth was explaining one of the various building structures and designs she had studied.</p><p>Something here made her skin crawl, feeling an electric gaze running over her bones. Normally Abby's head would start pounding under the weight of foreign electricity, but the pain never comes. Was there something off with their electricity here?</p><p>Only when they pass through a monstrous set of doors does the feeling of foreign electricity cease. The chamber inside couple encompasses the cell she'd just left ten times, cells and all. Directly across from the blonde was an older male his head balding as he wore some glasses, meeting Abby's gaze with one of concern. This soothed her a bit before she glanced around the room noticing three separate groups of people. As she begins to study them the guard from before meets her gaze as well and any comfort from the older man quickly vanished.</p><p>With each group, Abby noticed they all had the same seal or patch rather, on the left side of their chest. For instance, the guard from earlier who was now glaring daggers at her had a seal of a green horse with a horn protruding out of a snow-white mane. Pyxis had two roses with thorns interlacing the two previously mentioned roses. And then there was Erwin and Levi not to mention the woman whom she just met, Petra, all had the same patch. Two wings, the left being white, which the right was a beautiful shade of blue.</p><p>Petra and the other officers march me forward, but they all don't stay for long. The ginger making her way to stand with Erwin and Levi's group, while most of the other officers stand by the door seeming to guard it. Only two officers remained, and they grabbed one of Abby's arms which were already chained together, so this really didn't seem necessary to her, but even so, they brought her to a long metal pole sticking out of what appeared to be a stone flooring of some kind... What was it Annabeth called it?</p><p>"You will kneel." A voice from one of the officers says, interrupting the blonde's thought. Abby 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 kneel, but her pride won't let her. Even here in a court of some kind about to be tried for whether she's a danger it not, her knees refuse to bend for these people. "I will not," She said looking up at the guard who scowled back at her.</p><p>"Do you enjoy your cell Ms?" The judge questioned his voice filling the room that was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The threat in his words was plain as day, but still, she stood strong. He cocked his head, staring at the short blonde woman like she was a project to puzzle over.</p><p>"What do you want from me." Abby managed to force out.</p><p>"What I want concerning you is impossible. From the reports I've heard you-" He began but was interrupted by one of the soldiers with a green horse of some kind as his patch.</p><p>"Your honor, you can't seriously be considering the scouts' offer. She's a danger to society, she nearly set one of them on fire. We have to get rid of her."</p><p>"What do you purpose we do? Waste her potential because you're too scared of her?" Erwin chimed in giving the soldier a look just like the one she'd seen when they first met. This started a whole argument between the two groups, this made Abby's anxiety spike as she listened to whether she should live or die.</p><p>"Order!" Was all the judge had to say to get the two groups to stop talking altogether, the room goes dead silent once more.</p><p>"Well, I'm not sorry you can't kill me." The blonde suddenly spoke, looking up at the judge with a cool yet determined look in her eyes.</p><p>The judge raised an eyebrow before emitting a soft chuckle, "They didn't say you were quick."</p><p>Relief flooded through Abby. Death doesn't await her here. Not yet. The judge picked up a file with stacks of paper in it, all covered with various writing. The top sheet had Annabeth's full name, birthday, and a guardian's name which Abby had Derrick forge from the orphanage owner that they told her about. Abby studied the documents, to anyone else they would think she's looking at the judge when she was actually trying to make out the chicken scratch on the papers in his hand, or well trying too. Her advanced sight helped her, but he would only tilt the paper at times and her height wasn't doing her any favors at the moment.</p><p>"Annabeth Maria Legacy, born July 12th with no birth certificate on file, listed as guardian is Nick a pastor of the local church who is in this room now, but when talked too says he has no record of ever keeping an 'Annabeth" The judge concluded looking down at Abby who didn't know what to say. She'd let Derrick and Annabeth go to some school inside the walls because well it made them both happy, and all she wanted to do was that. "With Ms. Legacy, she is a respectable member of society whom I can easily say is no threat. Mr. Aoki is the same. Having done a fair share of labor in Wall Rose, his only offense being he's a bit of a skirt chaser, but I'm sure you already knew that." He stated continuing to study the blonde's face.</p><p>"You," He began again after a long pause, "From what I've been told interviewing both of the defendants' you are altogether a poor, rude, improvised, immoral, bitter, prideful, stubborn, and unintelligent woman who's never stepped foot in these walls until the scout regiment dragged you in, and even then you were resistant."</p><p>The shock of his blunt words took a moment to sink in but left Abby with blush dusted on her cheeks, but she didn't argue. She didn't feel the need to. For the most part, he was right.</p><p>"And yet," He continues, setting down the documents and sitting up once more in his chair to get a better look at Abby. "You are also something else. Something I cannot fathom. You appear human but have uncanny abilities much like something a titan might possess. A peculiarity with deadly consequences you cannot understand. So what is this court to do with you?"</p><p>Was he asking her? "You could let me go. And I wouldn't come back."</p><p>The soldier from before sharpy laughed cutting Abby off before she could speak any further. "And what you think no one here is going to remember the little flame found 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 the walls?"</p><p>But before the unnamed soldier could continue Levi steps in, quite literally he's made his way over the bar that divides each group and has made his way over to the blonde, before side sweeping her making her fall to her knees. Before she could get up he grabbed her long hair holding her in place so she couldn't move without pulling out her hair.</p><p>"You know my advice," He starts glaring over at the unnamed soldier who's been on her case since this started.</p><p>"We're not going to kill her." Not yet hangs in the air. "If we did what you Military Police pigs want then we'd all be dead. Who knows how many more out there are just like here? So the scouts are going to hide her in plain sight, where we can watch her, protect her, and attempt to understand her." Levi spoke in such a cold detached manner, never loosening his grip on her hair. Abby felt as if at any moment she was going to snap and kill this bastard. He talked about her like she wasn't in the room. No. Like she was too stupid to understand what was going on, which infuriated her, but with his grip, she couldn't really object without him likely just pulling tighter if that were even possible.</p><p>The judge's eyes gleamed making Abby feel as if she was nothing but a dog to these people. Something to train to obey.</p><p>The military police, god that's a stupid name, tried to inject this offer but the judge simply waved them off like he would a fly. "If you were listening Dennis, you would understand the tremendous opportunity she is for humanity."The judge began explaining I'm his strong and authoritative voice. "If the commoners see this leap in the knowledge they can be placated. The fall of Wall Maria will no longer be the main talk like it has been for these last two years. It's like an old fairy tale, an outsider gives the people Insight, and she becomes their champion. They look at her instead of the tragedy." And he said this part softer emphasizing this part: "She's the hope people need right now."</p><p>But this isn't a fairy tale or even a dream. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆. The blonde was filled with anxiety as she realized that she was going to be in a cage, forced into taking a role she never asked for. 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎. 𝑨 𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕. 𝑨 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚, 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒆𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒅.</p><p>Abby met Levi's eyes silently pleading. He got her into this, he put these ideas into their heads, but he simply looked away. He wasn't going to help her.</p><p>Dennis's dark eyes met Abby's deep blue ones as he let himself smirk. "Just so this is fair, the military police wants her to undergo training with her abilities, and be tutored in anything and everything to make her more," He searched for the word, chewing on his lip a bit as he continued to smirk, "Suitable." Abby didn't know what that meant for her, so she looked up to see Levi scoff.</p><p>"We're the scout corps, not teachers. We can get her used to live inside the walls, but I'm damn well not teaching her." He said lowly still glaring at the MP who met his gaze with a glare of his own.</p><p>Abby felt her throat tighten like she could feel the Scouts' and Military Police wrapping her around their fingers, trying to mold her in whatever shape they wanted. "What about my life--?"</p><p>"What life?" Dennis crowed, "Girl, you have fallen head over heels into a miracle."</p><p>Erwin squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, before Levi answers for him, "She meant her friends. Abby--the girl-- wants to know what happens to them."</p><p>"Oh, that?" The judge inquired in a softer, kinder tone than what he was using earlier. "Well they have abilities like yours, but we'll keep it so they won't be in the spotlight. They aren't a threat and have been seen inside the walls, so it might cause people to worry."</p><p>"I want it so Annabeth and Derrick can still come into the walls whenever they'd like." For once Abby felt like she'd said something right, even though Levi's tightening grip wasn't what was convincing her.</p><p>The judge responds in half a heartbeat. He knew they didn't pose any threat to humanity. "Done. Well, then I hereby sentence you into the custody of the Scout Regiment." He finished by hammering a wooden gavel against his mahogany stand.</p><p>It sounds like less of a pardon and more of a death sentence. What had she gotten herself into?</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑟: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The doors began to open, creaking like broken bones. Blinding light spilled into the room. Abby squinted against the brightness, but her feet never stopped. Hot, dry air filled the blonde and left her lungs aching. The second she slowed, she felt a cold hand on her wrist--</p>
<p>"Your mount is this way," Erwin called, in a honey-laced voice. The golden-haired male was trying to make up for Levi who played tug of war with the shorter woman's sandy blonde locks.</p>
<p>Abby quickly gripped onto the commander's wrist using all of her strength to twist his hand off of her waist. The blonde's sapphire blue eyes resembling those of a predatory animal as she glared at him.</p>
<p>"Don't you ever. Touch me again."</p>
<p>The woman was too out of breath to continue, so she just pushed her way past Erwin only to be stopped by a familiar raven-haired individual, who said nothing before lifting her onto the richly outfitted saddle of a Friesian horse. The moment she found her grip, she shot Levi a glare.</p>
<p>Abby let out a huff before glancing down at the horse she got. It was a beautiful stallion with an abundance of leg feathers and a silky black man that went perfectly with the coat of the steed. At first, she sat still eyeing the animal who seemed to be giving her the same judging gaze. After a moment of this, she laid her head on the animal, resting her head against his soft mane. She began to doze off before being snapped back into reality by Levi's smoky voice.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>The blonde tilted her head back, letting the wind sting her eyes. Every now and then, her hand would creep to her heart, reassuring the blonde that she was, in fact, still alive. This 'Freedom' was bittersweet. She'd never be able to have her alone time in the forest where she could breathe without worrying if her two comrades were going to make it home safe, a time where she only had to focus on herself.</p>
<p>They rode beneath compressed laterite mixed with a grayish hue of brick. Abby glanced behind, catching sight of a familiar light brown haired-male, Derrick, who was riding next to the chocolate brown brunette she'd encountered yesterday.</p>
<p>"Where are we going?" She asked, unhurriedly turning her head back to face forward.</p>
<p>The black stallion galloped toward a large gate connected to the enormous wall that hurt Abby's neck to look up at it. She'd always hated seeing them, even back in the forest. She couldn't explain it, but the walls gave her nothing but anxiety. Most likely stemmed from her lack of trust, her constant worry that someday everything would change, and surprise, surprise she was right.</p>
<p>"To get to the Scout Regiment HQ, we have to go through Shiganshina District." She nearly choked at Levi's words. Are they going outside the walls?</p>
<p>A divided sky illuminated the isolated and broken ruins of a town. The setting sun beamed down with soft sunlight falling over the destruction vulgar and brutal sight of what was left. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅? The breeze carried a disgusting scent of old metallic blood, mold, and rotting animals of some kind, but Abby couldn't tell what. As she trailed behind Levi on horseback, all sense of calmness left her. In her head, she couldn't fathom the amount of destruction in this small section of an inner wall. Was this where the Colossus was? The whole scene was so-- 𝑪𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏.</p>
<p>The sandy blonde crossed her arms, holding onto the upper part of it, feeling a sharp aching in her chest as she felt her body go cold. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔..? After letting out a sigh, she straightened her back, surveying the area around before hearing a low rumble, No. What sounded like stomping, it was coming closer but from where--</p>
<p>Before zeroing in on where the sound was coming from, the sound of hooves hitting the ground and horses' heavy breathing was what brought her back into reality. She followed the scouts to a vacant area, where the buildings weren't as prominent, and the ground was natural dirt instead of the paved dirt roads.</p>
<p>"Doesn't it seem a little too quiet, Captian?" A man with olive-toned skin and jet black hair asked, glancing around cautiously.</p>
<p>"There aren't any birds or animals in this area," Abby noted, finally speaking up, getting the attention of the small group surrounding her to quote, 'keep her safe.'</p>
<p>"Of course not." The ravenette spoke coldly, almost impatiently, with his smoky voice laced with venom, "There is nothing but titans here, what the hell did you expect?"</p>
<p>The blonde felt her nostrils flare as her chin faced downwards, her teeth beginning to grit together before tightly pressing her lips together. Who did he think he was talking to her like that? If they were anywhere else, in any other situation. God help him. What a spiteful, ill-tempered man.</p>
<p>The blonde mumbled something incoherent before she took notice of the stomping once more, but this time she could see what was causing the noise. It was a titan. A pure one from what Abby could tell, it looked like one, with its black hair and almost dead eyes with that horrifying smile most of the titans had. It couldn't have been taller than a three-meter, but her thoughts were interrupted when it jumped. 𝑶𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆. 𝑨𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍.</p>
<p>The woman was ready to take care of this, but before she could even get off her horse, Mr. Jackass and his gooney squad had already taken care of it, rather quickly with the titan falling with an intense thud, releasing steam indicating it was dead. How- What- She had only looked down for no more than a second. How did they 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 kill it?</p>
<p>"Hey, Brat!" A voice called, getting the blonde's attention before her face turned sour at the name.</p>
<p>"You're probably younger than me! Stop calling me that!"</p>
<p>Levi ignored her outburst. The ravenette had no time to deal with this kid. The man was more concerned with getting out of titan territory to the scout's hideout, not making the blonde happy. She's been nothing but bratty and pouty since she's been here. Why would he show her any respect?</p>
<p>"Captin Levi." A voice called, getting the ebony-haired male's attention, as well as the blonde who was now glaring daggers at him.</p>
<p>A woman with short cherry brown hair, cut with straight bangs and straight ends rode up on a caramel and ivory spotted horse with a blonde mane and tail. Her face was unusually ashen, and once she stopped, it was clear she was shaking, her lip trembling as she let out a sharp breath before speaking.</p>
<p>"Captin, there was meant to be a black flare, but-- The commander hasn't returned one, we don't know if he's been compromised or not." The woman explained, her golden eyes appearing to be overly bright, damp even.</p>
<p>"I'll handle it, Nifa. You pass it to the next group."</p>
<p>The cherry brunette nodded before turning to ride to the next group supposedly, but Abby was intrigued. Did the so-called Wings of Freedom always get caught like this? If so--</p>
<p>Her thoughts were interrupted by the light ginger-haired woman from yesterday, "Captin, what's the plan of action? Are we taking Abby with us or not?"</p>
<p>"We have to Petra, as much as I don't want to hear her complain she doesn't have any gear or swords, she'd be dead within minutes."</p>
<p>"I can take care of myself--"</p>
<p>"Well, you didn't bother to say how you killed that titan unless you want to be open about it now. No? Didn't think so. You act like a child, and you're the height of one too, which doesn't help your case any. Now either shut your damn mouth or I'll shut it for you.</p>
<p>Abby was speechless at this man's audacity to say she acted like a child, or say she was the height of one when he's what? 𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒓? She opened her mouth to argue back before quickly shutting it, pressing her lips together tightly as her eyes narrowed. The sandy-haired woman glanced down, trying to hide the pout that her face made which, was meant to be a scowl of some kind.</p>
<p>As she let out a sigh, Abby felt a nudge on her shoulder, causing her to jerk her head only to meet a pair of brown eyes from a man with long blond hair, which had a middle parting and a bun folded at the back to keep his hair tied.</p>
<p>"Just try to calm down, don't read too much into Captin's taunts." The man spoke with such an altruistic tone along, with his quiet and silvery voice just made Abby feel more at ease like she should listen to him, but another part was screaming at her. He gave her a warm, soft smile before following Levi, who was leading the group the blonde reluctantly followed before they managed to make their way to Commander Erwin's squad. Everything seemed to be in order from a distance, but-- 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇? That cherry brunette wouldn't have urged them to come if something wasn't wrong.</p>
<p>Erwin turned his head, eyeing the group before, nodding at Levi, who acknowledged as a mutual hello. When they arrived at the group, the problem was obvious, so obvious it made Abby a little embarrassed that she hadn't noticed sooner.</p>
<p>They were at the gate to leave the Shiganshina District.</p>
<p>𝑾𝒂𝒊𝒕. That didn't make any sense. Why was that woman, Nifa, so terrified? She'd looked like she'd seen a ghost. Abby tilted her head to see what everyone was staring at there it was. Three titans, two 15 meters, and a three-meter were in the tunnel where the gate used to be, much like the entrance gate between this district and the ruins of Wall Maria. Even so, it was just three titans? The group she was with had taken care of one within seconds. Why were these three any different?</p>
<p>"There all abnormals," Erwin said, his face emotionless staying stoic as glanced at Abby.</p>
<p>"How are you sure?" She questioned, feeling her neck begin to ache. 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍.</p>
<p>For some reason, this question unnerved Erwin, keeping him quiet as he continued to look forward.</p>
<p>Horrendous blood curtailing screams rang throughout, coming from the remains of the once Shiganshina District gate.</p>
<p>The sandy blonde almost mimicked Erwin's expression before glancing up at him, "You have a chance to take them out right now, so why are you just sitting here?"</p>
<p>The blonde and the black-haired males stared at her before Levi let out a small chuckle, "Brat's not wrong, so what are your orders, commander?"</p>
<p>"Do what it takes, I don't want anyone else to die today, understood?"</p>
<p>"Yes sir, " He stated before turning to Abby with nothing more than a side glance, "Come on, brat, you might not have gear, but you can 'take care' of yourself right?"</p>
<p>"Of course, I can."</p>
<p>The ravenette let out a sigh, "Good, but if I or anyone have to save your ass, you're going to wish you would've died by a titan, got it?"</p>
<p>"I got it. I don't need a babysitter." The blonde growled lowly before riding ahead, causing Levi and his group to speed up.</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>"Captin, should we slow her down? She's going to run headfirst in there--" Petra began glancing over at Levi for guidance.</p>
<p>"No. I'm not a brat wrangler. If she wants to run in like a suicidal maniac, let her. Besides," He continued, but slower, so only his squad could hear, "Erwin and Hange want to know more about the power these three have. It's mostly the reason as to why they have no gear."</p>
<p>Gunther nodded, "Makes sense, Captin, so are we going to fall back to see what she does?"</p>
<p>"Of course we are, we can't just rush in with her. Only a moron would do that." Oluo hissed in his usual know it all manner before blood spurted from his mouth, and he gritted his teeth in agony.</p>
<p>"Good," Levi said quietly before speaking, in his usual smoky voice again, "Then it's settled."</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>The sandy-blonde had gotten a few feet ahead, and it's a good thing those titans were more focused on that human they'd managed to get. Abby had nice balance thanks to-- 𝑵𝒐. She didn't want to think of that right now. After a deep breath, the blonde began standing on the horse as he was trotting, good thing this was a stallion with a fair bit of muscle because if it was a mare, Abby might not have been able to pull this off, and for whatever reason, the horse didn't seem to mind too much. Abby needed to name this horse, but she could focus on that when there weren't titans around.</p>
<p>This whole scenario felt odd to her, but she couldn't think of that right now, letting her body's temperature begin to rise, she could feel the sparks and flames in her hand-- 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. Just a little more time come on, the titans are right there, now was no time for this to malfunction. 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒊𝒕.</p>
<p>The three-meter was so close, but she couldn't panic. That wouldn't do any good for anyone. The blonde raised her forearm, aiming before releasing heat from her hand, letting tiny sparks and flames crackle and pop before blinding the titan. Abby quickly adjusted herself from the backfire of the shot before sitting down on the saddle of the horse, grabbing the reins so tight her knuckles began to turn a sickly pale as she guided to horse through the 15 meters, who by the time they noticed her had to get up and chase after, but with Levi's squad behind, they didn't get very far, and neither did Abby.</p>
<p>Before long, the group had gotten next to her, riding alongside her once more. "Don't go off like that again," Levi warned, clearly annoyed by Abby riding so far ahead.</p>
<p>The blonde didn't speak. The blonde just laid against the stallion's silky raven-haired mane tuning out anything said.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and make sure to like and follow for more stories and to be up to date on the latest chapters when they come out! If you have any comments or things you want to say, I'm happy to hear them, I am a writer who wants to work on many pieces in the future, so any constructive criticism is appreciated</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑖𝑣𝑒: 𝑊𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝑃𝑡 𝑇𝑤𝑜</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was late afternoon when the wagons and soldiers pulled up to a rather large estate several miles outside the outermost wall of Maria. An array of trees and greenery covered the outside entrance, which tipped off the blonde that this home, or rather a mansion, or maybe castle? Hadn't been inhabited in a while or at least, the people who did live in it didn't care much for keeping up with the outskirts of vines and branches twisting between one another. It rose two stories above the ground with a partial third floor arching over the center of the estate. The roof laid nearly flat and bordered by a low parapet. The miss couldn't help but wonder if any stairways led up to the rooftop for what was almost definitely to be an impressive view of the lush and remote grounds. The building itself was made of thick white bricks or quartz, while the accents were merely stones cut and polished, which was nothing to sneeze at but compared to where she'd just come from any home would seem like a palace. Even so, this was remarkable since it didn't look like there were any quarries in this region of the island, meaning the material used had to come from some distant place. Veins of a thin ledge ran between the first and second floor. Not to mention that the woman had taken note of many windows, and that was just the front view of the estate. The forest where she and her comrades resited had no foundations in it, so this was stunning to her.</p><p>Erwin hopped off his horse standing tall before gesturing toward the estate. "Welcome to the Scouts Headquarters as we like to call it. It was founded by one of the first commanders and has since been used to house dozens of our soldiers, and now it will be your new home until we can find a more permanent resident for you three." He paused, glancing between Annabeth, Derrick, and Abby, who was still on her horse, however, it seemed the ebony girl was the one distracted this time. Eyeing the structure, seemingly studying every detail it had to offer. Only when her older blonde friend nudged her did she focus on what the commander had been saying. "I had some people arrange everything in advance so our arrival would be a more comfortable adjustment. Now enough of my rambling, I'm sure you have many questions, but we have other things to discuss first."</p><p>The scouts seemed used to this place, as they quickly took control of their horses, and the ginger girl, Nifa, had run-up to the golden-haired male quickly talking to him in hushed tones.</p><p>Before Abby could eavesdrop on their private conversation, Levi snapped his fingers gesturing for her to get off her horse, and when she did, the ravenette took the reins quickly, which made the blonde raised an eyebrow. But before any argument could break out the commander was back with the ginger-haired woman standing beside him with a soft smile, causing the hairs on Abby's neck to stand up, as she instinctively backed away, casting a glowering look to them both.</p><p>"Hey, it's okay, we're not going to hurt you," The woman quickly said, waving her hands slightly with open palms facing at an upward angle, while holding back a crooked smile.</p><p>Abby gave the ginger a look before raising one of her eyebrows once more, "With that tone, I'd be surprised." She scoffed, crossing her arms as the blonde clenched her teeth keeping her eyes and ears trained on everything. A low buzzing could be heard, almost like a humming of some kind, and the more her heart race the louder it was heard seemingly ringing in her ears. 𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕? 𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔?</p><p>Erwin tilted his head looking down at the petite woman, "We were talking about what squad you three should be in." He commented after a long pause of tense silence fell within the group, and continued after the blonde male's statement, he continued to survey Abby his eyes squinting as the silence stayed ever so present.</p><p>"Levi," He suddenly said, getting the ravenette's attention, causing him to glance back from the stable he'd just put his steed. "Could you lead our new friend here to the room she'll be staying in since she'll be in 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 squad." The commander added with a smile that didn't reach his eyes making the blonde feel more uneasy than she already did. The way he phrased it sounded more like an order than a question, but it could just be her overthinking or overanalyzing the situation. Right?</p><p>As soon as the words left Erwin's mouth the ravenette walked briskly over, "What do you me she's in 𝒎𝒚 squad? We have the best soldiers in the brigade, I'm not here to run a daycare because she's paranoid." He insisted on totally ignoring the female next to him. "This creature can be in Hange's squad, Hange likes titan scum."</p><p>Erwin leaned over, using a quiet voice as he spoke lightly and quickly, "Levi, I'm asking you to watch her not to like her, she's going to be stubborn about helping us at all. I'm going to watch Annabeth, and Hange is getting Derrick, so just try to get her on 𝒐𝒖𝒓 side. She doesn't trust us."</p><p>"Exactly, so why even keep her?" Levi asked bluntly his eyes narrowing, he never argued with Erwin, but something about Abby rubbed him the wrong way.</p><p>"I understand you're uncomfortable with her, but if you keep an eye on her it will keep your mind at ease. I know you don't trust her, why do you think I'm giving her to you?" Erwin implicated with a smile causing Levi to let out an annoyed sigh. The ravenette knew he was right, he just didn't want to deal with this brat.</p><p>"Fine," Levi stated, casting an eye on Abby, who was being distracted by Derrick, who in the first five minutes of arriving had already started chatting away with the other scouts and trying to charm one of the ladies before the blonde grabbed him by the ear and pulled lightly making him stop to look down at her with a cheeky smile, "Hey half-pint," The ravenette called making the blonde stiffen up and the chestnut-haired male to chuckle, and Abby to glare daggers at both the men;</p><p>"I'm only like an 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉 shorter than you!" She growled as she raised her chin, curling her lips up into a snarl. This seemed to amuse Levi as he let out a small chuckle, "Maybe listen next time when I'm talking to you." He stated, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde.</p><p>"Now, all of you," He began glancing between Derrick and Abby, "Wait, where is the smart one?" He questioned in his usual smokey voice.</p><p>"Erwin came by and asked her to go with him someplace," Derrick replied with a shrug, scanning the surrounding area. The ebony girl was nowhere in sight, at least from what Derrick could see.</p><p>"Of course," Levi said with another sigh, was Hange supposed to take Derrick already? Or was she busy? It's too late to go get her, and he doubted this guy would have any idea where four-eyes usually was.</p><p>He gave Abby another side glance, "Some of you need a bath, you've been living in the woods like disgusting pigs. Once you're clean and actually presentable, you can join us for dinner and meet who you'll be working alongside. I'll get someone to show you I have more important things to do than be your tour guide."</p><p>The ravenette said, rolling his eyes before making eye contact with one of the girls Abby had met early. What was her name again? She caught the look instantly, making her way through the crowd of people like a titan setting eyes on a human. "Yes, Captain?" The light-haired ginger inquired, her hands staying at her sides.</p><p>"If you could take Derrick to the washroom that would be helpful. Also, tell Hange he's with her squad." Levi said, with Petra nodding as she leads Derrick away from the ravenette and blonde. Abby couldn't help but focus on Petra and Derrick growing smaller as they went farther from her view before going out of sight completely.</p><p>"Half-pint." Levi hissed firmly as he glared down at the blonde. "Have you been listening to 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 I've said?" He snapped narrowing his eyes at her as his eyes became colder. The ravenette letting out another harsh sigh, "I'm guessing not. What is so important that you need to go into the hollow head of yours?"</p><p>"Why do you care?" Abby fumed, her voice rising and becoming somewhat shaky as she shot a glare back at the dark-haired male.</p><p>"The only reason I '𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆' is because you haven't been listening to me for the past five minutes, I don't like repeating myself, do I make myself clear?" The ravenette shot back, in a condescending tone, seeming to tower over her even though he was only a couple inches taller. The blonde huffed before trying to storm off only to have Levi call from behind her, "What are you five?"</p><p>Abby turned around quickly and marched right back up to him, "What did you just say?" She hissed, her stance widening is her arms outstretched beside her.</p><p>Levi's voice stayed calm as he raised an eyebrow, "Well, aren't you worked up, does someone need a nap?"</p><p>A man with chin-length, straight chocolate brown hair tied back into a ponytail walked up getting in-between both Levi and Abby. "Hello Miss, you must be one of the new recruits. Petra told me you needed directions to the washroom?" The man took Abby by surprise with how calm he was, well his voice at least was calm. The man's hazel eyes were filled with concern and worry from what she could tell, which made sense given the situation. Before Abby could continue the argument another man had gotten Levi to walk away to the stables with him. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅?</p><p>Letting out a sigh of some kind due to her being speechless, she only nodded as the brown-haired male lead her into the estate. The entry was massive and well lit by windows and a large chandelier directly above the two. The plaster walls were decorated with beautiful murals of countryside scenery. A tapestry hung near the blonde with many names and descriptions. Probably a memorial to Scout members or a record of some kind.</p><p>"What's your name?" She asked the man.</p><p>He hesitated for a moment as if he wasn't sure whether he should answer, and then replied, "Luke, Ma'am." Luke looked like the kind of young man who might never grow facial hair to actually require a shave. He had very boyish features with his straight brown hair only attributing to it. She suspected that if the stories Annabeth told her about elves were true, Luke would turn out to be one.</p><p>"I'm Abby. My companions on this trip will tell assure you I am no 'ma'am.' People here seem to think I'm either a child or a threat, so if anything I'm on the same level as you. So let's keep everything on a first-name basis."</p><p>"Forgive me, but I was taught to always address my elders as ma'am or sir. It's just my heritage." Luke responded as the two righted a corner, "So you should get used to hearing it."</p><p>The blonde tugged on the white rag the served as her shirt. Her entire fist could fit through a tear in the fabric near her hip from the earlier situation and with the dirt she'd managed to smudge on it. "With me dressed this way? How can you call me that without laughing?"</p><p>Luke glanced sideways at her before smiling crookedly, "It isn't easy . . . Ma'am."</p><p>When they happened to pass a couple of doors, Abby inquired about them, Luke told her that the rooms off to the left were for a few choice scouts, such as Levi and Hange. They also housed a kitchen and other work areas. To the right were rooms for other scout members, which several of them shared. The blonde figured Luke was one of these scout members that shared a room. A grand staircase rose up from the center of the entry. It was lined with tall beeswax candles and had fine dark wood flooring that looked so smooth that Abby bent over to feel it, and it felt more like a stone than wood.</p><p>Ahead of her, she heard a scout member whisper to another how with her dirty hands, he'd have to scrub that area of the flooring now. Out of spite, Abby made sure she left a mark there.</p><p>The second floor consisted of rooms on alternating sides of a long hallway. Where Derrick and Annabeth were with Erwin and Petra, with Derrick's now wet chestnut hair, the blonde could only assume he'd already bathed.</p><p>"I think several houses could fit in here," Derrick remarked.</p><p>"Whoever owned this was a rich man," Annabeth added.</p><p>"Why would they need so many rooms?" Abby questioned.</p><p>Luke smiled. "If he had fewer room, there wouldn't be enough cleaning for all his servants to do."</p><p>The blonde couldn't help but let out a laugh, which earned the glances of Petra and Erwin. In a quieter voice, Luke continued, "I heard the former owner often had guests over. He wished to impress his wealth upon them, some say that the king's family once lived here as a summer palace of some kind."</p><p>"Really?" Abby inquired looking up at Luke with a tilt in her head before he cracked a smile and shrugged, "Who knows?" He sang before walking past her.</p><p>"Do you know why the courts wanted us to come out here?" The blonde questioned, "Does the commander have a plan for us or something?"</p><p>"If I knew it probably wouldn't be my place to say it," Luke replied his eyes darting around as he spoke.</p><p>"You don't have to tell me," She added quickly. The last thing she wanted was Luke to be scared to talk to her. "I was just curious is all."</p><p>"All we hear as soldiers are rumors and bits of the whole story until the commander wants to tell us," Luke stated. "You couldn't trust the little I know anyway."</p><p>"No," She agreed, then changed the subject. "How long have you served in the scouts?"</p><p>"I came here when I was fifteen, ma'am, so about eight years now."</p><p>"My family already wasn't doing so well, so coming here really helped them financially I don't think I'd want to go now, I'm too attached." He admitted with a chuckle.</p><p>"Do you like it here?"</p><p>Luke nodded, "If you listen to orders and survive the expedition it's a good place. You'll meet all kinds of people."</p><p>"What if you don't follow orders?"</p><p>"Erwin sent a messenger ahead. I heard about you." Luke smiled and added, "I fear you may find out the answer to that question yourself."</p><p>That made a soft smile appear on Abby's face. "I won't cause too much trouble, I think I've already made a name for myself, and I've only been here thirty minutes."</p><p>"Yes, ma'am." Luke stopped at a door. "You won't have to share a bedroom for now, but your bath will be in here." He opened the door to reveal a nice-sized room that looked as if it was converted for use in bathing. The decorations were soft and feminine, but it didn't appear to be anyone's current living quarters, so she assumed it was an old guest room. Abby was tempted to throw herself on the bed that was near the far wall, but given how dirty she was, they'd need to burn the sheets afterward. She hadn't been in a bed in a long time, she didn't even really remember what it was like to sleep in one.</p><p>Luke tugged on her shirt a bit to get her attention, "Um, I bathe in private," Abby responded after zoning back in.</p><p>Luke cracked a smile again, "Pardon my observation Ma'am, but it doesn't appear you bathe at all."</p><p>Abby giggled, "Well I won't start by having you stand outside the door."</p><p>"Well of course, now what I was told is I need to bring you to the dining hall as clean as a nobleman's daughter. I'll wait outside the room, and if you try to cut corners I'll send you back." This time Luke wasn't smiling as he closed the door.</p><p>"You can relax a while out there," She called out to him, "I'll be a while."</p><p>She looked for a way to keep the door closed with one of those. . . What's that thing called? A . . . Well, no time to waste thinking of that. The blonde dragged a chair up to the door and put it against it.</p><p>The room had a window balcony at the back of the estate. She tiptoed out onto it and looked around. A scout member was below in the stables, but his attention was focused on the horses. Probably not a great risk of him looking toward the balcony. The exterior of the estate was built from rock, with a thin ledge marking each floor. It was a long fall to the ground, but there were a lot of ways to make sure she didn't fall.</p><p>Abby swung her body onto the balustrade, balancing herself against the outside wall. Bracing her foot against the angled curve of a rock, she dug her fingers into the crevice of another rock and climbed.</p><p>---------------</p><p>Luke was calling Abby's name when she returned to the room, with sweat beading on her face and body as she had little to no energy left now. The blonde hadn't been gone that long, just enough to look around the scouts' headquarters for herself. Still. She wondered just how long he'd been calling for her.</p><p>"Must have fallen asleep," She called back to him, splashing some water with her hand. "What do you need?"</p><p>"Your water must be freezing now. Do you want me to come in to refill it?" Luke replied.</p><p>The water was cold. But it was also perfectly clean, and she was even more filthy than she had been when she left.</p><p>"The water is fine," The blonde called, undressing as quickly and quietly as possible. "I won't be too much longer."</p><p>"Your friends left their baths long ago."</p><p>"Yes, but they were probably cleaning themselves while I was sleeping. Give me a few moments."</p><p>--------</p><p>After emerging from the bath, Abby sent Luke out from the room while she re-dressed. Abby had to admit that she'd never been so clean in her life. The blonde didn't think it was possible to be this clean. A thick stack of new clothes from Luke waited for her outside the washroom. It was a plain, white collared button-up shirt with the rest of the scout's uniform and boots that go with it.</p><p>Luke nodded, "Now come on. Dinner was ready while you were sleeping in the bath."</p><p>Derrick and Annabeth were already seated when she walked in. This room was big, enough to accommodate all of the scouts, but there was a small dining hall for what she assumed were the higher ranked scouts, it was designed for everyday meals, and intimidate affairs, like meetings or plannings of some kind. She couldn't help but think of how pointless these polished silver forks or glasses.</p><p>"Sit, please," Erwin said, motioning to the plate on his left. Annabeth was on his right, and Derrick was beside her. Derrick clearly was starving by how he was using his eyes to usher the blonde to sit, which amused her slightly.</p><p>As soon as she sat, some scouts began bringing the food. They started with cheese as soft as butter and fruit in the prime of ripeness. In the forest, she was lucky to scavage fruit as ripe as this, not to mention cheese was something she couldn't really get out there, but Annabeth would bring it back sometimes after she visited the walls. Erwin, Levi, Hange, and some other scouts she hadn't met yet were served first, but Erwin waited for the rest of his comrades to be served before he began. Although Abby was served right after the scouts were, she took note and followed the same guideline. It was a horrible temptation to ignore Erwin's example and begin eating.</p><p>The blonde's senses overwhelmed her by the glorious smells on her plate and more coming from the kitchen, the whole dining room in fact. "Do you eat like this 𝒂𝒍𝒍 the time?" She asked enthusiastically.</p><p>"All the time," Hange replied with a laugh caught in her throat. The brunette woman was sat by another blonde male, he had a very stone-cold face much like the ravenette next to him.</p><p>"It's quite a humble one actually," Erwin added his face cracking into a smile.</p><p>A young lady reached over Abby's shoulder, which made her jump turn her head quickly just as the woman had set a burnt orange-colored soup down in front of the blonde. The lady had dirty blonde hair leaning more towards a light brown than blonde pulled into a single braid down her back. She wasn't necessarily beautiful, but something about her was definitely interesting. Her eyes fascinated Abby, warm and brown, but haunted, maybe even afraid. The lady looked nervous when she caught me staring and looked down at the ground before serving the others.</p><p>"Sorry if I scared you." Abby offered with a confused look, she wasn't sure how to address this situation, she'd never meant to scare her.</p><p>Erwin began talking about some squad arrangments or something, but Abby was more focused on the food than anything: Crispbread still steaming from the oven, egg stir-fried rice, fruit pudding chilled from an underground cooler. Abby listened but kept focusing on other things like food, and that girl she'd noticed earlier who was now talking to another scout. When she walked past the table accidentally bumping Annabeth's arm, causing her to spill some of her drink on herself. The scout she was talking with glared at her, and Abby opened her mouth to defend her, but the woman quickly apologized and handed Annabeth napkins before hurrying out of the room.</p><p>The final course was dessert, a cherry tart with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on it. The same lady who served the three returned, but this time the blonde gave her no extra attention. Even if she has difficulties with that man, Abby had plenty of her own things to worry about. The major one being what was Erwin planning on having them do? He said that they would learn from them, but how?</p><p>"So," Erwin began looking over each of the three carefully, "I think it's time I tell you what the plan is."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you all like it and if you do, make sure to like it and follow me to keep up with the story and when it posts! I'm going to suggest you read the past chapters if you want to re-read those, or if you're new and want to read those before reading this!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Author's Note: Hey, Hello reader! Sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger I'm glad you read through chapter one, please make sure to stick around for the other chapters I'll be posting! If you like this make sure to like and follow me to see more content like this! Also sorry if the formatting of this is a bit messy this is my first time using Archive</p></blockquote></div></div>
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